PHOTOS: Vikings ranked No. 1 in league after finishing undefeated

The Vikings now rank No. 1 in their league after finishing the first round of league play undefeated. A match against Burns tomorrow will kick off the second round of league play, followed by a Thursday match against Nyssa. JV play starts at 4 p.m. both days.

The wins followed a sweep of Umatilla Friday, Oct. 4 (25-2, 25-13, 25-17) and a 3-1 win against rival Burns last month.

The Vikings now rank first in their league, ahead of rivals Burns and Irrigon. “Everybody’s coming after you now. So we have to work extra hard,” said Vale coach Shannon Steele.

“Today was a great blocking and serving day,” Steele said after the Irrigon match.

The team served at 91% against Irrigon. Sierra Cleaver led with six aces and Lexy Rodgers had two.

Maycee DeLong had four blocks and Tyanna Norton had five blocks and six kills.

Emersyn Johnson, Lexy Rodgers and Taleah Zueger each had 12 digs. Lexi Cleaver and Sierra Cleaver had six and five kills respectively.

The Vikings dominated in the first set, but went on to lose the second and third set before making a comeback in the last two sets.

“It feels really good being undefeated for the first round of league,” said senior Maycee DeLong after the match, pointing to a strong defense as the key to the victory.

The Vikings started off strong but slipped in the second set as the Knights fought back with impressive saves from libero Makenna Collins. A controversial ref call took away a match point from Irrigon in the second set, leaving the Knights a bit dismayed.

Despite the grueling match against Irrigon, the Vikings returned strong an hour later. They finished off Riverside in three sets, serving at 93% during the match.

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